Mastering The Art Of Success

(^) Mastering the Art of Success
I manage my emotions. As we do this work, we can align our behaviors
and our goals. It’s very important work to do, a nd I think everyone
should do it, but not everybody does! It’s challenging and it takes
courage because when you start to open some of the boxes, it’s a bit like
Pandora’s Box—it’s not always pretty.
Yoga has h elped me on my journey. I always try and integrate
aspects of that ancient practice into the work I do, particularly the
mindfulness practic es because I believe that they are so important. I
th ink that’s what makes the work I do a little different from others in
my field. I’m a ctually in the process of writing a book called Yoga
Leadership and it integrates those concepts into personal mastery and
leadership. If you look at successful people y ou know in the world, I’m
sure that if y ou asked them, they would t ell you they have done that
courageous work, they know who they are, they know where they’re
going, and they inspire those around them. They also have an amazing
capacity to support others to learn and grow. The other piece I have
learned about people I admire, as successful business people and
leaders, is that they often have a very deep-rooted spiritual practice.
WRIGHT
So how does personal mastery relate to the work you do with
individuals and teams?
FOSTER
It ’s a good question. I always think of Peter Senge in that regard. He
says that, “Personal mastery goes beyond competence and skills, it
means approaching one’s life as a creative work, living life from a
creative as opposed to a reactive viewpoint.” It is challenging work for
people; it’s very challenging work to do on your own. Just in the way
we’d find a mentor or someone to help us learn something new, I help
people reimagine the possibilities and create compelling r esults through
very courageous conversations. And those conversations are not only
the ones we have with each other. More importantly, they are th ose we
have with ourselves. I liken it to the monkey that chatters. We have a
“monkey” that constantly chatters in our head. For example, when
cli ents hire me, it’s usually because something in their life isn’t